This is your SolarWakeup for August 4th, 2023
Play By Play Corporate Commenting. You’ve probably never heard of this company, Azelio, which filed for bankruptcy recently. It’s a hardware technology company based in Sweden and covered in today’s top story. The only reason I am somewhat familiar with this is because at every step of the way, the company sent not just the press releases but updates to industry media email address in which my SolarWakeup email was included. From their quarterly announcements to their delays in filings and changes to their board and executives. Every update was chronicled via email to the media in a way that I’ve never seen before, so I wanted to share that with you given that it’s being covered by the industry reporters when in reality, it likely would have just disappeared had it not been so public about the demise.
News
1 Canary Media:
Is Azelio’s abrupt bankruptcy a bad omen for long-duration energy storage?
2 Bloomberg:
UK Green Subsidies Need Revamp to Meet Net Zero, SSE Says
3 Reuters:
Alberta pauses approvals of some new renewable projects, greens unhappy
4 PV-Tech:
FERC publishes new guidance for US grid interconnections
5 Energy Storage News:
Nova Scotia - Energy storage key to Canadian province’s transition away from coal
6 GreenBiz:
Looking back at the Inflation Reduction Act
7 PV-Magazine:
WoodMac predicts 270 GW of new global PV capacity in 2023
Opinions:
8 Utility Dive:
Despite headwinds, US offshore wind is poised for a breakout
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 3rd, 2023
Bureaucracy For The Sake Of. It’s a positive sign that FERC and the White House are looking to accelerate the work around net metering and permitting. It still leaves the lack of focus by the ISOs to not only accelerate their work, i.e. it takes 6 years for a cluster to go through in CAISO and PJM is PJM. ISOs are also delayed in a more progressive price signals that will enable more sustainable construction of the pipeline.
News
1 Canary Media:
White House proposes new rule to speed up clean energy permitting
2 Utility Dive:
New York must triple its renewable capacity in eight years to meet 2030 target
3 Reuters:
US doubles renewable subsidies to $15.6 billion in last seven years, EIA says
4 Barrons:
Rooftop Solar Is in a Slump. This CEO Sees 2 Ways Out.
5 PV-Magazine:
SolarEdge stock trades down despite record revenue in Q2
6 Bloomberg:
Home-Power Suppliers Face Slump Despite Grid Outages
7 Energy Storage News:
Software-centric’ home battery company Electriq Power gets NYSE listing
Opinions:
8 Politico:
Are EV sales really slowing down?
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 2nd, 2023
Opinion
News
1 Bloomberg:
Offshore Wind Industry Is Caught In a Financial Hurricane
2 PV-Tech:
US$450 million allocated by US govt to install rooftop solar PV for Puerto Rico residents
3 Utility Dive:
Young workers are flocking to renewable jobs, but the sector remains short on labor, reports show
4 Axios:
Phoenix is first U.S. city with a monthly temperature above 100°F
5 Reuters:
Texas power use hits record for second straight day as heat wave lingers
6 Energy Storage News:
Ameresco
7 Canary Media:
Tesla alum aims to build the power company of the future
8 PV-Magazine:
Solar decommissioning plans for 36 U.S. states
Opinions:
9 New York Times:
Solar Supply Chain Grows More Opaque Amid Human Rights Concerns
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for August 1st, 2023
The IRA Certainty Problem. There’s the downside of the political system and primarily of the rhetoric that comes out of DC. The IRA is an economic behemoth and were it not for the rhetoric that threatens to cut the IRA if political winds shifted, the onshoring of factories would be far greater than they already are. As a country, the United States cannot create the economic environment that requires every pro forma to turn positive before the next election but in many ways that’s already happening and it is unfortunate.
News
1 Axios:
2024 elections complicate climate tech startup investing
2 Canary Media:
FERC takes a big step to get more clean energy on the US grid
3 Utility Dive:
Southern California Edison eyeing ‘substantial investments’ in grid resilience and reliability, CEO says
4 Bloomberg:
US on Alert as It Enters Two Historically Super-Hot Weeks - Weather Watch
5 Reuters:
Texas power use hits record for sixth time this summer as heat wave lingers
6 Solar Builder:
SEIA to develop 11 new solar, energy storage ANSI standards
7 PV-Tech:
China’s installed solar capacity reaches 470GW as of H1 2023
8 PV-Magazine:
Stiff competition predicted for USDA $9.7 billion focused on renewables
Opinions:
9 Houston Chronicle:
Are batteries the future of the power grid? In Texas the experiment is already underway
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 31st, 2023
Electrify Everything And Future Thing. This summer has caused challenges across the spectrum and some that haven’t been recognized yet. When we say electrification is the energy transition, we usually focus on EVs and gas stoves. But in reality there’s much more. One of those is that many more Americans and people across the globe want and need cooling solutions. This additional load will be additive to the load peak on the grid when the heat is most straining it, exacerbating the grid operators’ challenge.
News
1 Bloomberg:
Cooling Technology’s Next Act Could Be Even More Important Than Today’s Heat Pumps
2 Axios:
White House makes its move on permitting
3 Los Angeles Times:
California has new weapons to battle summer blackouts
4 PV-Magazine:
Enphase lowers revenue guidance as U.S. residential solar stagnates
5 PV-Tech:
Nextracker’s quarterly revenue rises 19% year-on-year
6 Solar Power World:
Biden Administration proposes new rules for solar permitting on federal lands
7 Canary Media:
Charts - US clean energy developers are hyped about post-IRA prospects
Opinions:
8 Utility Dive:
Cautious investors and fast cash - Why AEP, Duke and other utilities have sold their renewable assets
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 28th, 2023
Weekend Rundown. A few things to get you into your weekend, back to regularly scheduled commentary next week.
News
1 New York Times:
A Bottleneck on the Grid Threatens Clean Energy. New Rules Aim to Help.
2 Axios:
Biden announces first-ever heat wave "hazard alert" for workers
3 PV-Magazine:
First Solar announces fifth U.S. manufacturing facility
4 Reuters:
Enphase Energy sees revenue below estimates on weak U.S. demand, shares fall
5 PV-Tech:
SunPower reports net loss of US$30 million in Q2 2023 preliminary results
6 Utility Dive:
Barrasso ties possible transmission reforms to ‘premature’ power plant retirements
7 Solar Builder:
In for the long haul - Charting the rise of long duration energy storage
8 Energy Storage News:
Grid services revenues could be key to unlocking solar and storage for low-income communities
Opinions:
9 Bloomberg:
No Clean Energy Source Is Marginal in the Quest for Net Zero
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 27th, 2023
Opinion
News
1 Utility Dive:
‘A tripling of electrical output’ - Tesla’s Musk urges power sector to anticipate higher demand
2 Bloomberg:
European Gas Prices Slump as Storage, Renewables Offset Risks
3 Reuters:
Energy-hungry Europe to brighten profit at US solar equipment makers
4 Energy Storage News:
US Department of Energy adds US$30 million funding for long-duration and storage R&D
5 Canary Media:
Major automakers take on Tesla with US-wide EV charging network
6 PV-Magazine:
California utility announces launch of distributed energy management system
7 PV-Tech:
Too big to succeed - different approaches to delivering large-scale solar
Opinions:
8 Vox:
Biden’s $250 billion lure to clean up the dirty legacy of fossil fuels
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 26th, 2023
Opinion
News
1 Utility Dive:
EVs will bring ‘unprecedented’ power demand, but their flexibility can improve grid reliability, utilities say
2 PV-Tech:
DOE releases US$20 million funding for solar lifecycle and recycling development
3 Bloomberg:
Why the Texas Power Grid Is Facing Another Crisis
4 San Antonio Express News:
Without wind and solar power, ERCOT CEO says, this summer's grid story could be much different
5 Axios:
Study - Key Atlantic Ocean circulation could shut down by mid-century
6 Reuters:
Investment firm Low Carbon secures $513 million for renewables projects
7 Energy Storage News:
California’s SDG&E eyes up ITC for 200MW BESS portfolio
8 PV-Magazine:
Utility-scale solar and storage project updates across the U.S.
Opinions:
9 Canary Media:
Maine to go all in on offshore wind
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 25th, 2023
Opinion
News
1 Reuters:
Canada's Heliene plans new US solar panel and cell factory
2 PV-Magazine:
2 GW Meyer Burger solar cell factory in Colorado, hints of more coming
3 Bloomberg:
Chevron Considers Lithium Production in Latest EV Bet by Big Oil
4 Wall Street Journal:
China Dominates Solar. Does the U.S. Stand a Chance?
5 PV-Tech:
Japanese corporation Itochu to invest US$2 billion in renewables in North America
6 Politico:
Biden’s clean energy goals have a union problem
7 Energy Storage News:
Community energy storage developer NineDot gets US$25 million financing from NYSERDA
8 Canary Media:
A dispatch from the dawn of the green hydrogen era
Opinions:
9 Axios:
How Trump could slow the U.S. EV transition
Have a great day!
Yann
This is your SolarWakeup for July 24th, 2023
Opinion
News
1 Utility Dive:
Investor interest in energy storage back on track after slow first quarter
2 Axios:
Relentless U.S. heat wave is likely to extend into August
3 Reuters:
California has enough power during heat wave after Thursday emergency
4 PV-Tech:
Utility-scale solar to overtake coal in North Carolina’s electricity generation
5 Energy Storage News:
Spain could eliminate economic curtailment of renewables’ with 15GW of long-duration energy storage
6 PV-Magazine:
Array Technologies to secure domestically made steel from new mill in Texas
Opinions:
7 Bloomberg:
John Kerry's China Trip Was Not a Total Climate Loss
Have a great day!
Yann
